Since his rise to power in 2013, 9,600 Muslim temples have been built from scratch or restored, with an investment of more than 400 million euros. However, many remain empty, except during the Friday prayers in Ramadan. Young people and critics demand more resources for education, health and infrastructure.
Cairo () – During the decade that the president and former army general Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been in power, 9,600 mosques were built from scratch or renovated in Egypt for a total cost of 10.2 billion lire (about 410 millions of euros). The figure appears in the latest report published by the Ministry of Religious Heritage, testimony to the support – also monetary – that Cairo has guaranteed to Islam in recent years in the face of the harsh economic crisis that the country is going through. This despite the proclamations of its leader who, at the head of the country since 2013, has repeatedly promoted greater secularism in the institutions and openness to other faiths. In particular, regarding Christianity, hundreds of churches open without permission were “legalized” and Muslims were allowed to contribute to their construction.
Analysts and critics highlight the enormous sum of money that was invested in building or fixing Muslim temples, despite the fact that the country needs a significant amount of resources and investment in education, health, infrastructure and services. As early as September 2020, Minister Mohammad Mokhtar Gomaa spoke of more than 140,000 mosques spread across the territory, 100,000 of which can be classified as “great mosques”.
Paradoxically, some critical voices in Cairo point out, there are many mosques, but the faithful are scarce, to such an extent that the call to five daily prayers is often ignored and many temples remain empty. It’s useless. “The mosques in my area,” Mohammed Ali, 60, from the Maadi district, told al-Monitor, “they only fill up during the Friday prayers of Ramadan. [mes sagrado de ayuno y oración islámicos]. For the rest, there are only small groups that frequent them more often.”
The drive to build new places of prayer worries young people and intellectuals above all, according to whom one can pray anywhere, while special spaces (and adequate investments) are needed to strengthen the education and health system through of schools and hospitals. Furthermore, according to the American magazine Ceoworld, Egypt ranks last in the Arab world in terms of average salary, with a per capita monthly income of about 220 euros. Added to this is the devaluation of the local currency and rising inflation, which jumped from 6.2% in November 2021 to 19.2% the following year.
Despite the criticism, the government stands firm and through Minister Gomaa praises the construction program that has led to the construction of an “unprecedented number” of mosques in the history of Egypt and any other nation in the world. The religious leaders of the country of the pharaohs are satisfied, as can be seen from the statements of Sheikh Khaled al-Jundi, a member of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (a body affiliated with the Ministry of Religious Heritage), according to which these policies are proof of a laudable attempt to “preserve the religion” (Muslim).
